A van stolen in Moline, Ill., at 5 a.m. Thursday drew a more than measured response from authorities by the time it made it into Iowa. Nine officers from four agencies participated in a high-speed chase — at more than 100 mph — through two counties in pursuit of the van. It is certainly possible that this is a pure coincidence, but the van was stolen from Donut Delite. "What strikes me as a bit out of the ordinary is the number of officers who were able to respond," Rich Vander Mey, assistant Tama County attorney, told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. "I don't know whether the fact that the stolen vehicle contained donuts has anything to do with that." The bakery donated the goods in the van to the officers. "They probably deserved it," said manager Sharon Wainwright. They caught and arrested the driver.

Rodentia

Thailand serious about rat problem

Thailand's Health Ministry has launched a national campaign against rats. And just to show how serious they are in the mission, they've decided to eradicate the Health Ministry of its own infestation of the rodents, and about 50 have been caught in the Bangkok compound in the past few days. "Rats are commonly found wherever there is food, debris and garbage — not just at the Health Ministry," said Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsup. The ministry wants to reduce the rodent population before rainy season starts in May, when standing water can harbor diseases carried by the rats.

Busted!

History of breaking stuff pays off

Ed Byrne of Cornwall, England, claims he is the world-champion block breaker after busting up 55 concrete blocks in 4.86 seconds recently. "People think it's a lot easier to break blocks than it actually is. I make it look easy," he told the Daily Telegraph after breaking the old record of 17.49 seconds in addition to the blocks. For his next trick, Byrne, a black belt, wants to break the record for most blocks broken in one shot, which currently stands at 31. "I used to break things when I was a kid for fun with my friends."

Update

Illinois flake ... going, going, gone?

Late Friday night, the auction closed on the frosted flake in the shape of Illinois. In the final hours, bidding was over $1,300. Emily and Melissa McIntire of Chesapeake, Va., put the flake up for sale after Emily found it on her spoon while eating breakfast last week. The first auction of the flake was canceled by eBay due to a violation of a food policy after bidding had climbed to $200,000. The sisters say they weren't disappointed, though, because they didn't believe the huge bids were legitimate. As hard as that is to imagine.

Compiled from Times wire services and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster, who can be reached at jwebster@sptimes.com.